Monday, August 25, 2014

stealing, again, and again

Garbanzo has an uncle that has invested a lot of time and energy in setting Garbanzo up with a mowing gig, mowing for both the uncle and the uncle's neighbor. We'll call him Uncle McGivor. Uncle McGivor's knife turned up under the bed that Garbanzo sleeps in over at his grandparents' house. That is, the bed he USED to sleep under, before he was banished from their house for stealing from grandma's jewelry box and lying about it.
What does one do with a child with such poor impulse control, such unreliable morals, that he steals from the his relatives? In a way, you could say that we have given up. Not that we don't care or that I don't lay awake at night worrying about his future, but that we have given up the idea that we have any control over this. I am powerless over my son's stealing. We tell him he has to chose what kind of man he wants to be, and that with choices come consequences. I'm still waiting to hear what consequences Uncle McGivor has in store for him. I would think he will be fired.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

stealing

again. more.

This time it was his Grandpa's class ring.

I am at a loss of what to do.  He is impervious to punishments.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

one thing that is working

Tater has a really hard time controlling her temper.  Anything that makes her mad makes her really really mad.  Not getting her way, being told no, being told what to do, being corrected, being asked to do a job correctly, these all make her mad.

When she is mad, she is consumed by the mad.  And the situation escalates into more and more bad choices.

Basically, she can't be around people, as she will engage them in anger.  So, obviously, she needs to be by herself until she can calm down.  It usually does not take long, and she can usually see that she was being unreasonable after she has become calm.

But getting her to go to her room usually became chaotic.  I'd say something like, "You need to go to your room until you can accept my decision." and she would shout hateful things and stomp and shout challenges and NOT GO.  And then I would stand up to take her and she would cry out that I was hurting her and whimper and do the whole kicked puppy thing and it would just go on and on.  She would lose control and (as James Lehman would point out) gain control, as I would back off on my resolve to ask her to go to her room.

But no more!

I give my kids printed lists (via OLLY) that show the day's responsibilities.  Included on each day is this:
COPYWORK: 5 times neatly and in cursive: When I behave inappropriately, Mom and Dad may ask me to go to my room to calm down so that I can correct my behavior. I need to go to my room without challenging, grumbling, stomping, and so on. When I am ready to apologize for my inappropriate behavior and am ready to be polite to people, I may come out of my room. (If you go to your room appropriately when asked, you don't need to copy this today.)

Now, if it wasn't on the list, and I assigned it when she acted up, there would be a big raging fit over receiving the lines.  But since it is on her list as default, and she can earn the right to skip it with good behavior, she choses that.